The Ball State men’s basketball team came into Tuesday’s game against Marquette as the underdogs to one of the powerhouses of the Big East Conference.
The Cardinals fell to the Golden Eagles, 53-91, while the Golden Eagles had seven players score in double digits.
Ball State’s freshman guard Zavier Turner outscored everyone inside the BMO Harris Bradley Center to finish the game with 16 points and five assists in 31 minutes of play for the Cardinals. The all-conference center Majok Majok fouled out of the game in the second half with four points and six rebounds.
Turner came into the game as the Cardinals leading scorer, averaging 13.4 points. He scored three points in the first half before erupting for 13 points in the second, using a combination of contested three-pointers and pull-up jump shots around the free throw line.
For Marquette, senior center Chris Otule led the team with 14 points to go along with six rebounds and four blocks. Junior forward Juan Anderson finished the game with 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and six steals.
Marquette head coach Buzz Williams employed a 2-2-1 press defense to start the game in efforts to disrupt the young Ball State team. With a starting back court of Turner and Mark Alstork, Marquette forced Turner to commit six turnovers while Alstork had one.
The Cardinals hadn’t played a game since losing 50-69 at home against Valparaiso on Dec. 4. Since then, the Cardinals have had almost two weeks to sort out the vocal leaders of the team as well as mixing up the rotation.
Before the matchup with Marquette, Ball State head coach James Whitford said he wanted to see seniors Chris Bond and Tyler Koch lead the team vocally more. Whitford also gave Kindon Crowder the chance to play after moving him from the scout team to the bench. Crowder responded with three points, one rebound and one assist in nine minutes.
Ball State now has a game Saturday to prepare for against Southern Illinois in Carbondale, Ill. Southern Illinois (2-8) is coming off of a 65-73 loss to Murray State on Tuesday night.
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